By MICHAEL R. SISAK and LARRY NEUMEISTER
NEW YORK (AP) — Under cross-examination, Sean “Diddy” Combs ’ ex-girlfriend testified Tuesday she took part in sex acts with male sex workers at the music mogul’s request because it made her feel loved by him, but now regrets what she came to recognize as the “cuckold” lifestyle.
The woman was testifying at Combs’ sex-trafficking trial under the pseudonym “Jane” to protect her identity. A day earlier, she revealed their three-year relationship stretched up until the Bad Boy Records founder was arrested in September at New York hotel, where she’d been planning to meet him.
Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges that carry a potential penalty of 15 years to life in prison. He has been jailed without bail.
Prosecutors allege Combs used violence, threats and a network of employees and associates to control and abuse women for two decades. His lawyers have told the jury in federal court in Manhattan that although there was domestic violence in his relationships, everything he did sexually was consensual.
Earlier in the trial, R&B signer Casandra “ Cassie ” Ventura testified over four days that Combs physically abused her and that she participated in hundreds of “freak-off” sexual performances during a nearly 11-year relationship that ended in 2018.
The Associated Press doesn’t name alleged victims of sexual abuse without their consent unless they have shared their identities publicly, as Cassie has.
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FILE – Sean “Diddy” Combs arrives at the LA Premiere of “The Four: Battle For Stardom” at the CBS Radford Studio Center, May 30, 2018, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP, File)
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FILE – Sean “Diddy” Combs arrives at the LA Premiere of “The Four: Battle For Stardom” at the CBS Radford Studio Center, May 30, 2018, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP, File)
Teny Geragos, a lawyer for Combs, cross-examined Jane on Tuesday by leading her into discussing the drug-fueled sexual marathons choreographed by Combs — which Jane said sometimes happened weekly — by reminding her that she mentioned regrets in earlier testimony.
“I resent him for leading me into the lifestyle he led me to,” Jane said. “I resented the way he went about introducing me to this lifestyle.”
She said she agreed to these “hotel nights” while “under a lot of emotional pressure” — and already hooked on love and a desire to stay in a relationship with Combs.
Jane testified Monday she began therapy about three months ago. She previously met with lawyers on Combs’ defense team but cut off those meetings in April, days before the trial began.
She said she struggles to understand why she kept participating in “hotel nights” even though she only wanted to have sex with Combs, however the reasons are “becoming more and more clear” as she proceeds with therapy.
Jane initially felt it was “something very special” to have these secret sexual experiences with Combs. She said she didn’t want to judge him and “really wanted to just go along with these things because if I can be my partner’s escapes than I would be.”
Jane said she researched sexual variations in 2022 and came across the words “cuck” and “cuckold,” which seemed to fit the lifestyle she found herself in because she said a man known as a “cuck” derives pleasure seeing “his woman receive pleasure” from another man.
In earlier testimony, Jane provided recent examples of Combs acting violently toward a woman while seeking to fulfill his sexual desires. Cassie sued Combs in November 2023 alleging sexual abuse. The lawsuit was settled within hours for $20 million, but it touched off the criminal investigation into Combs.
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